Munah and Hirzi: Friends forever

SINGAPORE — With close to 17 million views and about 70,000 subscribers, the self-described “founding prince and princess” of Singapore’s YouTube scene — the very funny Maimunah Bagharib, aka Munah, 25, and Hirzi Zulkiflie, 24 — are definitely a comedic force to be reckoned with.

Munah and Hirzi recently commemorated their fifth anniversary as a duo. The duo gained popularity with the skits they posted on their YouTube channel, MunahHirziOfficial (MHO), such as their 10 Dares series, in which they had to do, well, dares in various different settings.

They would also give their comedic take on topical events, from the MRT service to elections to fasting tips to employers abusing interns, and their skits often feature recurring characters like the dim-witted Shah and a take on Michelle Chong’s famous maid character, Leticia Bongnino.

Initially, not everyone shared their sense of humour. Some in the Malay community took offense at their content and their appearances on MediaCorp TV’s Suria channel, and expressed their disapproval fervently.

“We learnt that comedy is actually a very hard language. Not everybody understands it. Just because you think it’s funny and your tribe of 70,000 subscribers thinks it’s funny ... it resonates differently with different people.” said Hirzi.

He continued: “How you choose to deal with (the negative response) is up to you. You could choose to lash back and be fiery about it like how a lot of people are doing with social media, or you could just keep quiet about it, accept it, reshape your art, rework your craft and approach things differently.”

“Yes, so the easiest thing (naysayers could do) is: If you don’t like it, don’t watch it,” added Munah. Thankfully, many people liked what they did, which led to the pair having their own TV show on Suria (Munah & Hirzi; Action!), collaborations with various brands and a stage production with Singapore’s comic legends (Happy Ever Laughter), where they performed with Gurmit Singh, Michelle Chong, Selena Tan and Singapore’s king (or queen) of comedy, Kumar.

And that’s not all: Munah will be acting in an Alfian Sa’at stage production by Teater Ekamatra next month; while Hirzi is featured in a Singapore Biennale installation by celebrated local film-maker Boo Junfeng.

“I’m very, very excited about (it). I’ve been dying to work with them. It’s like my dream,” said Munah of the theatre group, adding that she had previously declined an offer from the theatre company because she had school commitments.

But the workload is definitely catching up with them. And between the projects with their management company FLY Entertainment and the fact that Hirzi will be doing a six-month internship in the United States as part of his Chapman University curriculum, fans are no doubt wondering: What does that bode for MHO?

“We actually have (planned) videos for January till December. That’s how efficient MunahHirzi is ... People don’t know how hardworking we are,” said Hirzi.

Despite all the success on other platforms, Munah said they would always acknowledge their YouTube roots. “We grew with MHO. It’s our baby and we’ve changed so much because of it and it has changed because of us.”

But one thing that has remained constant throughout their online adventure is their love for and inclusion of foreign workers in their videos.

The MHO video with the highest number of hits (roughly 430,000) is a musical parody of a Beyonce hit that advocates for a mandatory day off for all domestic workers here. Girls — Run The World Parody (Singapore) starts off with of a heated discussion between a Singaporean employer and her helper. It then dissolves into song and dance, with a character placed by Hirzi, Leticiacia Fierce, declaring in revolutionary fashion: “Who runs the house? Maids!”

“I love foreign workers,” said Hirzi.

“They are the core of our country,” added Munah. “And I think it’s really nice, the relationship we’ve built with them. Like when we get them to do stupid things — they’re so sporting. They’re like, ‘Okay, we can do it’. And then sometimes I ask one of them to kiss Hirzi and then the other will say ‘I also want to, I also want to’!”

“I think they are so under-represented in a lot of media,” said Hirzi. “And the truth is they have such positive energy. I love it when I see foreign workers having a good day off on a Sunday. When I see them enjoying dancing on the street in front of Takashimaya or when I see them parked in front of Little India ... these are the people who are so cohesive with what our branding is, which is ‘live your life and be fun and have fun’.”

This genuine compassion married with an unflinching commitment to tell the truth — albeit in a decidedly humourous fashion — about what’s happening in Singapore is part of their appeal. The other factor is the obvious heartwarming friendship between the two.

“It’s never work when you’re doing it with your main bestie,” said Hirzi. “If you put me in an office setting with her, it would still not be work ... We have each other’s back to the death. Like if she wanted to take a five-minute nap, I’d be covering for her. I’d be like, ‘Girlfriend is taking a break. Can you chill? Thank you’.”

Catch Munah & Hirzi online at http://www.youtube.com/user/MunahHirziOfficial